IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i20p9127-d1503378.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Human-Centered Shelter Design for People on the Move in the Al-Sahel Region

Author

Listed:
  • Hind Al-Shoubaki

    (Institute Social Planning, Organizational Change, and Urban Development ISOS, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland)

  • Dimitris Psychogyios

    (Department of Architecture, The University of Thessaly, 38221 Volos, Greece)

  • Matthias Drilling

    (Institute Social Planning, Organizational Change, and Urban Development ISOS, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland)

  • Yioryos Chatziefthymiou

    (Department of Architecture, The University of Thessaly, 38221 Volos, Greece)

  • Tatiani Fragkou

    (Department of Architecture, The University of Thessaly, 38221 Volos, Greece)

  • André Marinho Costa

    (Department of Social Studies, The University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland)

  • Aris Tsangrassoulis

    (Department of Architecture, The University of Thessaly, 38221 Volos, Greece)

Abstract

This article addresses the development of a human-centered shelter design tailored to meet the specific needs of refugees in the Al-Sahel Region. It focuses on five essential aspects of humanitarian-centered design. The goal is to create a livable unit that accommodates the three distinct phases of an emergency, transitional, and durable situation. We have adopted a non-linear design approach to develop the refugee shelter unit. We engage in discussions with team experts following each data collection phase. The conceptual design of the shelter unit is intended to align with the refugee settlement’s natural growth while maintaining a degree of control over its evolution. We have outlined a spatial configuration for a residential unit designed for three to six individuals and various patio options. Additionally, we have devised plans for an education and healthcare facility, all designed with the same structure to bring a more organized approach to the organic growth of the camp. The design proposal adopts a process-oriented approach, incorporating refugees indirectly in the design and construction of their shelters. While we do not assert that the framework of a ‘refugee camp’ can be sustainable, our goal is to show that its planning, in the absence of alternatives, should adhere to sustainability criteria.

Suggested Citation

  • Hind Al-Shoubaki & Dimitris Psychogyios & Matthias Drilling & Yioryos Chatziefthymiou & Tatiani Fragkou & André Marinho Costa & Aris Tsangrassoulis, 2024. "A Human-Centered Shelter Design for People on the Move in the Al-Sahel Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-25, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:20:p:9127-:d:1503378
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/20/9127/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/20/9127/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ayham Dalal & Amer Darweesh & Philipp Misselwitz & Anna Steigemann, 2018. "Planning the Ideal Refugee Camp? A Critical Interrogation of Recent Planning Innovations in Jordan and Germany," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(4), pages 64-78.
    2. Rojhat Ibrahim & Bálint Baranyai & Haval Abdulkareem & Tamás János Katona, 2023. "Energy Use and Indoor Environment Performance in Sustainably Designed Refugee Shelters: Three Incremental Phases," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-19, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Igor Labuda & Federica Pugliese & Jolanata Dzwierzynska, 2024. "An Innovative Concept for 3D Sand-Printed Sustainable Refugee Shelters in a Sandy Desert in a Hot and Dry Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-31, March.
    2. Frank Eckardt, 2018. "European Cities Planning for Asylum," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(4), pages 61-63.
    3. Charalampos Tsavdaroglou & Maria Kaika, 2022. "The refugees’ right to the centre of the city: City branding versus city commoning in Athens," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 59(6), pages 1130-1147, May.
    4. Roberta Bonì & Pietro Teatini & Claudia Zoccarato & Carolina Guardiola-Albert & Pablo Ezquerro & Guadalupe Bru & Roberto Tomás & Javier Valdes-Abellan & Conception Pla & María I. Navarro-Hernández & A, 2022. "Stakeholders’ Perspective on Groundwater Management in Four Water-Stressed Mediterranean Areas: Priorities and Challenges," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-25, May.
    5. Lucas Oesch, 2020. "An Improvised Dispositif: Invisible Urban Planning in the Refugee Camp," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 349-365, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:20:p:9127-:d:1503378. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.